By KT Reporter
The Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development has committed to playing its funding role to ensure a significant reduction in the case backlog in the judicial system, particularly commercial cases.
The Ministry says this is already part of the Fourth National Development Plan (NDPIV), which also provides for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
“The NDPIV Governance and Security Programme emphasizes the need to improve access to justice for all Ugandans, with one of the key focus areas being reducing case backlog in the Commercial and Land Court divisions,” says the ministry in its microeconomic indicators on development for January. The banking industry has decried the huge monetary value of the cases tied up in the judicial system, with Bank of Uganda Governor, Michael Atingi-Ego, recently putting the figure at UGX 6.3 trillion.
He says this is partly contributing to the bank interest rates as it abets the scarcity of money. The programme targets to reduce the number of backlog cases in the administration of the justice system by half to reach 5.2 percent of total cases in the 2029/30 financial year. Currently, the government is promoting the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a strategy to reduce case backlogs, such as mediation and plea bargaining.
In 2024/2025, a total of 3,760 cases were resolved through plea bargaining, including 2,251 at the High Court level and 1.509 in various Magisterial areas, resulting in a clearance rate of 67.16, according to the ministry and the judiciary. On the other hand, Courts mediated a total of 6,803 cases to conclusion out of the 10,401 mediation caseload. The Judiciary Annual Performance Report for 2024/25 shows that the number of commercial cases at the High Court increased by 23 percent from 6,285 the previous year to 7,976 cases last financial year.
Relatedly, the number of pending commercial cases at High Court Divisions increased by 34 percent, from 5,776 to 7,754, while Commercial Case backlogs increased from 1,645 to 2,135 last year. Backlog cases are those that have remained unresolved for at least two years, while pending refers to the total number of cases registered but not yet handled. Relatedly, the amount of money stuck in Commercial case disputes totaled UGX 5.98 trillion in 2024/25 compared to 6.34 trillion in 2023/24.
In general, the number of pending cases in Courts increased by 17.9 percent from 161,838 in 2023/24 to 190,793 cases in 2024/25, with criminal cases dominating the figure at 70,338, while international crimes registered the lowest number of pending cases at 44. The total case backlogs increased by 8.4 percent to 46,181 in 2024/25. High Court circuits recorded the highest backlogs at 17,438, while the Supreme Court recorded the lowest backlog.
Another dent on the judicial system is that the case disposal rate reduced slightly from 59.7 percent in 2023/24 to 58 percent in 2024/25, with criminal cases having the highest disposal rate of 62.83 percent, while the lowest disposal rate was recorded in Land cases at 41.4 percent. The Judiciary’s latest National Court Case Census 2025, as cited in the Chief Justice Flavian Zeija’s address at the opening of the new law year, shows that there are 5,790 pending commercial disputes.
These have a total subject matter value (monetary value tied up in the cases) of UGX 5.98 trillion by the end of last year, with the judiciary saying it is a decline from UGX 6.3 trillion the previous year. This figure represents the highest subject matter value among pending case categories, ahead of civil cases (UGX 5.451 trillion), land matters (UGX 1.718 trillion), and others. This shows how unresolved commercial disputes impact economic activity, investor confidence, and growth.
Justice Zeija attributes all this to limited funding.Resolving these would unlock significant economic resources equivalent to a notable portion of Uganda’s GDP. The Uganda Bankers’ Association (UBA) views the commercial case backlog as a serious systemic issue that negatively impacts the banking sector, credit availability, economic growth, and overall business environment. UBA Chief Executive Officer, Wilbrod Owor, describes the situation as an indictment of the system, considering the trillions of shillings that remain tied up in unresolved cases.
“This backlog constrains credit growth and lending, as unpaid loans and prolonged disputes increase non-performing loans, leading to higher interest rates and reduced liquidity for financing the private sector.” The association emphasizes the economic opportunity cost, saying that funds locked in courts could instead circulate as affordable credit, lower borrowing costs, and stimulate activity if resolved faster. To address this, the UBA consistently advocates for greater use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms, such as arbitration and mediation, which offer faster, fairer, win-win outcomes compared to lengthy traditional court processes.
The association has championed private sector-led ADR frameworks, engaged with judiciary officials on improving service delivery, and promoted ADR in banking-related disputes to reduce court burdens.
Other interventions being implemented in response include automating and digitalising Court processes by rolling out the Electronic Court Case Management Information System, which so far covers 23 out of 236 Court Stations in Uganda.
Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, says that in addition, by June 1, 2026, all Courts utilizing ECCMIS will fully transition to digital operations and abandon the paper-based processes aimed at ensuring efficiency, transparency, and enhanced access to justice. Another intervention is the installation of the Digital Court Recording and Transcription Equipment. Last Financial Year, the ministry says two sets of Court recording and transcription systems were installed at Kitgum and Mpigi High Courts, bringing the total number to 93 sets installed in 44 Court Stations.
The government is also strengthening the legal and regulatory framework in the Judiciary by enacting statutory instruments to increase High Court Circuits from 20 to 38 and Magisterial areas from 80 to 157.
These should significantly reduced travel distances and delays, and support faster case management.
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